WHAT A COME BACK FOR BAYERN MUNICH

Bayern come back from the brink to beat Juventus with two goals in extra-time after Muller had levelled 10-goal tie in 90th minute

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Bayern Munich 4-2 Juventus (AET, agg 6-4): German giants stage stunning comeback as Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman strike in extra-time thanks to Thomas Muller's last minute header

• Juventus took shock early lead at the Allianz Arena as Paul Pogba kept his cool to place the ball past Manuel Neuer
• Juan Cuadrado doubled advantage for visitors, curling the ball home after a blistering run from Alvaro Morata
• Robert Lewandowski replied for hosts with a powerful header on 72 minutes to give Bayern a lifeline
• Thomas Muller struck a dramatic late equaliser for the hosts in the final minute to take tie to extra-time
• Bayern pair Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman struck in the additional half hour to give Munich victory
• Coman is on a two-year loan from Juventus and scored to ensure his parent club were eliminated
• German giants join Real Madrid, Atletico, Barcelona, PSG, Wolfsburg, Manchester City and Benfica in quarters

For 85 minutes, the awkward prospect of Manuel Pellegrini outrunning Pep Guardiola in the Champions League was amusingly real. For just as long, Guardiola faced the extraordinary possibility of being cast as a Bayern Munich failure.

That is the strange lot for a man who looks set to collect a third straight Bundesliga title but whose appointment three years ago was based on the greater brief of winning the Champions League. Cleaning up domestic business is nice and expected; winning in Europe is all that ever really mattered.

On Wednesday night, that almost came crashing down in a weird and wonderful match between the best of Italy and the best of Germany. Juventus crushed Bayern for more than an hour and led by goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado, giving them a 4-2 aggregate lead. 

How undignified it seemed that the man who is coming to Manchester City this summer would exit the Champions League before Pellegrini.

But then came the glorious fightback.

Robert Lewandowski gave Guardiola’s side a lifeline with a 72nd-minute header and Thomas Muller scored in stoppage time, taking the game into extra-time. A pair of crosses and a pair of headed goals; it’s not Guardiola football as we know it, but it did the job.

Just like that, 2-0 down on the night had become 2-2 and that became 4-2 up with excellent extra time goals from Guardiola’s substitutes, Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman, the latter a Juventus player on loan in Germany. Brilliantly dramatic.

And all this in a tie that had already had its share of swings in the first leg. Bayern, remember, had led 2-0 in Turin only to draw 2-2. A pair of away goals ought to have given them the edge in Munich last night, or at least a slight feeling of comfort.

The opposite was true. Whatever was Guardiola’s plan, it went horribly, woefully wrong. They faced a Juventus side determined to swamp the midfield and squeeze the life out of Bayern’s defence, which is precisely what happened.

 

The opening goal, scored after only six minutes, was a calamity of Bayern mistakes from a pair of players in Manuel Neuer and David Alaba who tend to make so few. Tellingly, they were mistakes made in panic.

Sami Khedira was the creator, in so much that he hit an excellent throughball that ultimately led to the goal. 

But before it reached Pogba, Neuer made the rash decision to sprint from his goal for a ball that Alaba was better placed to deal with. Alaba hesitated as his goalkeeper closed in, allowing Stephan Lichtsteiner the opportunity to beat both men to the punch and square to Pogba. With the goal vacated, the former Manchester United midfielder threaded a shot between two covering defenders and Bayern were behind. 

Champions League quarter-finalists 

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Wolfsburg, Benfica, Bayern Munich, Barcelona

Draw will commence at 11am on Friday  

 

Juventus' defeat means that England will still enter four clubs in next season’s Champions League, as Italy can no longer better their UEFA coefficient.

That strike could be chalked down to errors and a second almost followed in a similar vein, with Neuer scuffing a clearance and Morata scoring, only to incorrectly judged offside.

That was a let off for Bayern, but Juventus made it 2-0 soon enough with a quite brilliant counter-attacking goal created by the brilliance of Morata and buried wonderfully by Cuadrado.

Morata almost scored an exceptional third close to the hour, which coincided with the great recovery.

With 18 minutes to play, Douglas Costa, impressive on the right in place of Arjen Robben, who had a cold, sent over a brilliant cross and Lewandowski headed his eighth goal in eight Champions League games this season. Basic, direct stuff from a club that can elaborate with the best of them.

The kicker was that they did again in stoppage time. Excellent substitute Kingsley Coman crossed from the right in stoppage time and Muller won the header. Guardiola was a picture of waving arms and wild eyes.

The effect was greater in extra time. Thiago put Bayern ahead in the 108th minute and Coman scored moments later. Two fine goals, one big impact.

Guardiola, one of the great managers football has known, is not a failure just yet.